Southern Bell Telephone Company Building, Telephone exchange building in Downtown Atlanta, United States
The Southern Bell Telephone Company Building is a 14-story structure in Downtown Atlanta with limestone facades displaying geometric patterns. A microwave communications tower crowns the roof and remains operational for signal transmission.
Designed for Southern Bell by the Atlanta firm Marye, Alger and Vinour in an austere Art Deco style, the building was planned at 25 stories, which would have made it the tallest in Atlanta. It opened in 1929 at only six stories. Additions in 1947, 1948 and 1963 brought it to its present 14 stories.
The building's name changed with its owner: Southern Bell, then AT&T, whose name it now carries. Its address at 51 Peachtree Center Avenue, on the northeast corner of Auburn Avenue, places the exchange at a downtown crossroads. The austere Art Deco design by Marye, Alger and Vinour gives the telephone exchange a civic face rather than an industrial one.
Access to the interior is limited since the building continues to function as an active AT&T communications center. Visitors can view the exterior facade and architectural details clearly from street level.
The building's roof carries a microwave communications tower, a later addition to the 1929 art deco structure. The tower is what makes the former Southern Bell exchange still readable as a telecom facility from the street, long after the switchboards moved on.
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